Microsoft sci-fi is Kirilling me softly

Macworld.co.uk editor Mark Hattersley is a self-confessed sci-fi nut. But even he draws the line at a science-fiction show that features Microsoft products as heroes...

I'll admit it: I'm a bit of a sci-fi geek. It started with The Tripods, took hold during Star Wars, and I grew up with Asimov. I know my Space Opera from my Soft Sci-Fi, and my Cyberpunk, from my Steampunk – I know the vaguely pornographic sounding Hard Sci-Fi is anything but.

I've given up on watching Star Trek repeats because there's not a single episode left that I haven't seen, although that doesn't stop me when I trundle home from the pub.

So I understand the concept of living in glass houses and chucking rocks around. Even so, Microsoft's latest press release intrigued me. It reads: "Today MSN launches the UK's first-ever online, interactive sci-fi show, Kirill... Kirill's gripping storyline places Microsoft's range of products and services, including Vista, Live Search, Live Messenger, Live Spaces and MSN, at the crux of the plot".

Read that again. A gripping storyline starring Vista, Live Search and MSN.

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